Any Journo Would’ve Interviewed Shalit if Given the Chance

As journalists debate the ethics of the Gilad Shalit interview, Lawrence Pintak, the dean of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, calls a spade a spade. He writes in the Columbia Journalism Review:

But how many reporters can honestly say that, given the opportunity, they would have turned down the chance to be the first to speak with Shalit? Would Israel TV have said no?

His criticism of the interview is only in the way Shahira Amin handled it.

When considering the ethics of the Shalit interview it might be useful to separate the ethics of doing the interview from the ethics of how the interview was conducted.

In short, consider the source. Shahira Amin is an anchor at Nile TV, the English-language service of the government-owned station that sanitized the revolution. She spent much of her career communicating the official Mubarak government line and while she resigned amid much fanfare when it was fairly clear the government would fall, she was back at work not long after.

In the Shalit interview, her questions ranged from the illogical to the ridiculous. Why didn’t he do more videos from captivity? What “lessons” did he learn? Would he campaign for the release of Palestinian prisoners? And through it all, she kept fishing for complements about Egypt’s role in the release.

It was a classic performance by an Arab state broadcaster: one part journalism, two parts propaganda. Habits, after all, are hard to break.

Pintak describes interviewing teenage Iranian prisoners of war that violated the Geneva Convention and the professional jealousy of watching competing journalist Charles Glass dine with hostages of TWA flight 847 on the tarmac of Beirut International Airport under the protection of Hezbollah’s armed goons. The hostages were subsequently hidden in scattered areas of Beirut.

I agree with Pintak’s assessment of how the interview was carried out. And the issue of whether any interview should’ve happened is a very slippery slope. We now know that Red Cross doctors did not examine Shalit before Amin’s propaganda stunt. The ethics of Amin’s interview are going to be discussed in journalism schools for some time to come.

Dear Mr. Pintak,
I was at the Rafah border crossing when two Red Cross representatives entered the room to see Shalit minutes after he was released. THat was BEFORE the interview. When they came out I asked one of the medics about his condition and he said he was not allowed to comment.I DID not lie when I said he has been checked by Red Cross officials.My translator was even called into the room whilst that meeting took place.
True, I did return to Nile tv soon two months after the revolution…but not to spread propaganda as you accuse me. I went back to push for reforms and to have a local platform. I can only hope to effect change if I have a voice locally. What have i done since going back? I broke the story on the virginity tests carried out by the military on female protesters in Tahrir Square, was the only journalist to interview imprisoned blogger Maikel Nabil (defying a media ban on his case) and have continued to challenge the interim government which is dragging its feet in carrying out the reforms.
When I resigned at the height of the uprising in early Feb. you accused me of looking to see where the tide is turning and suddenly getting a conscience!! I sent you the links to my stories from 2000 to prove to you that i have not changed my tone. And now you do it again! I fail to see what your problem is… My questions to Shalit were not propaganda questions at all nor was I fishing for compliments for the authorities. They did manage to secure his release and it is an achievement…one that should be recognized. Mubarak had promised for five years to help release Shalit and failed to deliver. My interview was an attempt to break through the barrier of hatred and mistrust at a time of heightened tensions . You have seen how protesters in Egypt tried to storm the Israeli building and have called for the dismissal of the Israeli Ambassador and the annulment of the Camp David Accords. I thought that by seeing Shalit in his frail condition, Egyptians would come to see that people on both sides are paying the price for this conflict . I have been labelled a traitor by many in my country for talking to an Israeli and have been criticized for “making a hero out of Shalit.” I only did my job as a journalist and wish that more journalists would take similar initiatives. Maybe that would help build bridges of understanding and we would move from a cold peace to real peace on the ground. Thank you for giving me the chance to explain. Shahira Amin